How Does Planabar Work?
Planabar is professional bar planning software that answers the question couples and their vendors are always asking: What do we actually need for our bar? In one guided session, Planabar walks you through cocktail selection, calculates every quantity, generates your digital menu, and delivers professional-grade documents directly to your bartending service and planner.
Share your guest count, venue, menu style, and preferences. Planabar guides you through cocktail selection — signature drinks, spirits, menu style — based on your vision, crowd, and budget.
Everything gets calculated.
Quantities, ice, garnishes, glassware, and budget — all built using the same formulas professional bartenders use. Your shopping list tells you exactly what to buy, so your retailer trip is effortless.
Your documents are ready.
A digital bar menu formatted for guests. A complete Event Sheet and Master Product List delivered to your inbox — and automatically forwarded to your bartending service and planner.
Why We Built Planabar
Planabar was built by Neil Ratliff, a HarperCollins-published cocktail author and professional event bartender with thousands of weddings of hands-on experience across the country. As General Manager of City Cocktails, Neil built and scaled a bartending practice that grew tenfold over five years, working directly with couples, venues, and planners on the exact problem Planabar now solves in software.
Neil is the author of two HarperCollins titles: Seattle Cocktails (2022) and Drink the Pacific Northwest (2024), both deep dives into craft cocktail and beverage culture built on nationwide research and firsthand industry reporting. That same instinct — take something people usually guess their way through, and replace the guessing with real expertise — is what led to building Planabar.
Every piece of guidance, every tip, and every formula in Planabar’s planning engine comes from real events, not industry averages pulled from a spreadsheet or generic, outdated programs.
See Exactly What You’ll Get
Every Planabar planning session ends with three documents, generated instantly and ready to use — no templates to fill out, no guesswork to translate into a shopping list.
Event Sheet — your complete bar plan: menu, quantities, equipment, and vendor info, all in one place
Purchase List — exactly what to buy, and how much, so your shopping trip takes minutes, not hours
[Digital Menu preview — to be added in a follow-up update]
These are the same documents any licensed bartending service can pick up and execute from — no back-and-forth required.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I plan the bar for my wedding?
Planning your wedding bar starts with three inputs: your guest count, reception length, and menu style (Call Bar, Featured Cocktails, or Beer & Wine Only). Planabar walks you through a guided session — cocktail selection, spirit choices, recommendations and advice — and calculates every quantity, from alcohol and ice to garnishes and drinkware. When you’re done, you receive a complete digital bar menu and a Master Product List delivered to your inbox and forwarded directly to your bartending service and planner.
Do I need to hire a bartender for my wedding?
You don’t need a professional bartender to use Planabar — the platform generates your complete bar plan whether you’re working with licensed bar staff or a well-briefed friend or family member. For events over 50 guests or a full liquor bar, a professional is strongly recommended. Planabar works either way: whoever is behind the bar receives the same complete planning documents.
What does Planabar cost?
Planabar is completely free for couples. The platform is funded by participating bar service vendors, who use Planabar to give their clients a better planning experience — so you get a professional bar plan at no cost.
See the full FAQ →
Planabar collects the information needed to build your documents, and never sells personally identifiable information. Read our full Privacy Policy for details on what we collect, how it’s used, and your choices.